Open and Shut
by stfrench
Summary: Danny Messer investigates an assault on a new member of their team. my first fanfic: reviews and constructive critism will be much appreciated. Thanks.


**Open and Shut.**

Mac Taylor looked at his CSI and chuckled.

"You OK?" he asked, holding his hand out to help her up.

Nicole Favreaux struggled up to her feet and looked down to her soiled suit. "Obviously, there is only one mucky, stinky, gooey puddle around and it's the one I have to land in", the young woman said in disbelief. She tried unsuccessfully to brush the debris off her suit and sighed deeply. "We have a problem, Mac. I have no change of clothes at the station and I can't go around all day smelling foul like that puddle", she added.

Mac chuckled again and raised his eyes to the sky in mock desperation. "I'll take the evidence in. You go home, get changed and meet me at the lab later, OK?" he said.

"Thanks Mac, I appreciate that. I won't be long", Nicole said as she started walking towards where her car was parked. "I owe you!" she added over her shoulder with a smile.

As she drove to her apartment, Nicole wrinkled her nose at the smell coming from her clothes.

"That'll teach me to be overzealous", the young woman thought. She had been so keen to go back to the lab to start processing the evidence they had collected that she had eagerly climbed down the ladder without realising that the penultimate bar was broken. As soon as she'd put her foot on it, it had given under her weight and she had fallen clumsily in the puddle that was at the bottom of the ladder. Mac who had followed her saw what happened and carefully avoided the broken bar so as not to repeat her mistake.

She parked in front of her apartment building and hurried inside. She could not wait to get out of her filthy suit. She fumbled to get her keys out of her handbag. No matter how big or small her bags were, she still managed to fill them with all sorts of junk and she could be sure that her keys would always sink to the bottom. She opened the door of her ground floor flat and stepped inside. Before her instincts could warn her that something was wrong, she was grabbed from behind. The scream that came to her throat was muffled by her attacker's gloved hand over her mouth. Judging by the strength and stature of her attacker, she could tell it was a man. As she started to struggle against him, she felt strangely grateful that this was happening during her working hours rather that when she'd have brought Molly back from her childminder. The thought of her daughter sent her adrenaline rushing through her body and brought stinging tears to her eyes. She could also hear the buzz of blood rushing to her ears. Whatever that guy was going to do to her, she decided that she was not going to go down without a fight and she started squirming wildly to escape the attacker's iron-like grip around her. She could hear him breathe heavily in an effort to keep hold of her. Their struggle brought them further into Nicole's flat. Her hand found a band of skin between the cuff of the man's sleeve and his glove. She dug her nails into his wrist and scratched deeply. He let out a pained groan and removed his hand from her mouth. Immediately, she started screaming at the top of her lungs but her movements were still hindered by his arm around her waist. She started stomping her feet until the high heel of her shoe landed on the man's foot. He let out another groan and let go of her. But before Nicole had time to escape, he grabbed her by the shoulder and propelled her forward. She felt her head connect with the breakfast bar. A blinding white light obliterated her vision as she heard her skull crack against the counter. She sank to the floor as she felt, more than heard or saw, her attacker flee through the bay window.

Mac and Danny Messer made their way to Nicole's flat. As they reached the door, they saw half a dozen policemen guarding it. The officers moved aside to let the two detectives in. Nicole was sat on the edge of the sofa, her forearms resting on her thighs. Next to her, Detective Don Flack was writing her statement down on his notebook. She lifted her eyes as Mac and Danny entered her flat. They both gasped when they saw her face: her mouth was bruised from where the man had grabbed her and the left side of the forehead was swollen and a bruise covered the lump and ran down to her eye which was starting to close from the swelling.

"Why has she not been taken to hospital yet?" Mac asked in an irritated tone.

Detective Flack stood up. "She didn't want to go before being processed for evidence", he replied.

"_She_ is sat right here," Nicole said sarcastically, her voice raspy from screaming. "Maybe you could talk to me directly Mac." Mac settled his eyes on the young woman. He had terribly misjudged her when she had first walked into his office fresh from her transfer from the Montreal Police Department. Her whole appearance looked soft and unthreatening. The colour of her clothes and make up down to the diamanté hairgrip, which was holding a brown strand of her hair away from her face, had fooled him. Under the sweet surface laid a scarily sharp mind. He had found out that she worked efficiently, quickly and methodically. He had been aware of the work and publications of her father, Robert Favreaux, an eminent criminalist. It was fair to say that she was CSI royalty and anybody would have been daunted by the prospect of living up to such a reputation. But she seemed altogether pretty unfazed by it all and took it in her stride. Mac was an excellent judge of character and talent and, in the few weeks Nicole had worked for him, he'd found out that she was a determined and strong willed young woman and he knew that no one could make her do anything she wasn't prepared to do, like going to the hospital for instance. Mac crouched down in front of her in order to look at her in the eyes.

"OK Nicole", he said. "I apologise. I really want you to get checked out by a doctor."

"I will but I need to get processed first", she replied. "I scratched him, I may have his DNA under my nails. Anyway, what are you doing here? Shouldn't you be at the lab with our evidence? I bloody hope I didn't fall into that puddle for nothing."

Mac chuckled and shook his head in disbelief. "Do you really think I was going to stay at the lab when I heard you'd been hurt?" he said. "But you're right. I'm afraid I'll have to get back to our case. That's why I brought Danny with me. I want him to process your apartment and you for evidence, if that's OK with you… Unless you'd feel more comfortable for Stella or Aiden to do this?"

"Nope," the young woman replied, shaking her head. "Danny'll do just fine."

"OK,' Mac said. He turned to Danny and motioned him towards Nicole with a nod. "I want to be kept updated at every step," he told him. "And then, _you_ are going to hospital," he added turning to Nicole. "No discussion."

"OK boss," Nicole replied, smiling weakly. Mac left after giving a last look at his two CSIs.

"I'll start with you if that's OK," said Danny to Nicole as he was putting his latex gloves on. Nicole simply nodded. He settled on the sofa next to her and opened his kit. "OK, if you scratched him, you'll have skin under your nails. I'll scrape that," said the young man.

"I scratched him with my left hand," Nicole said holding her hand out to allow Danny to scrape under her nails.

Danny noticed her hand was trembling. "You OK?" he asked softly.

"I'm feeling a bit wobbly now," the young woman replied.

"Your adrenaline levels are crashing down," he said, putting the samples into his kit. "Now, I'll need your clothes in these. Shoes as well," he added, handing her a couple of large brown paper bags. "Then I'll have to photograph your bruises."

Nicole nodded and stood up but as she did so, her balance faulted her and she almost fell over. However, Danny had immediately jumped to his feet and grabbed the young woman by the arm to stop her from falling.

"You OK?" he asked.

"Yeah," she replied. "My legs are like jelly." She steadied herself on her feet and gave Danny a small smile. "I'm OK, thanks." She then walked to her bedroom to get changed. Meanwhile Detective Don Flack had been going over the flat to find any clue as to who had attacked his colleague. Danny joined him in front of the bay window.

"That's how he got in," Danny noted pointing at the jimmied lock. "Who found her?"

"Her neighbours heard her scream," Don replied. "They came in and found her unconscious on the floor. There was no trace of her attacker and they didn't see anybody in the hallway. They stayed with her until we arrived. By that point, she'd regained consciousness and was sitting up."

"So that's where he got out too," Danny said, pointing at the bay window again. "I'll dust it for prints."

"Nicole said he wore gloves," Don said, referring to his notebook. "She scratched his wrist and she crushed his foot with her high heel."

"She did?" Danny said with an amused look on his face.

"Yep," Don replied, smiling. "Hey, it's girly but efficient. That's one woman you don't wanna mess with!"

"She was attacked yet she made sure she left clues all over him," Danny commented pensively.

Nicole came back into the open plan lounge holding the two large evidence bags with her clothes. She handed them to Danny. "Good luck with those," she said. "I fell into a smelly puddle."

Danny didn't answer. His eyes were fixed on her face.

"I know," she said with a sigh and a vague gesture towards her own face. "I hadn't realised I looked that bad until I took a look at myself in the mirror."

"I swear that bruise has spread further on your face since we arrived," the young man said.

"Yeah," Nicole replied. "It wasn't a gentle knock. I'm pretty sure my skull left a dent on the kitchen counter," she added sulkily.

"I'll need to photograph those bruises," Danny said with a chuckle.

"Well knock yourself out, David Bailey," the young woman said. She then smiled unexpectedly. "No pun intended!"

Danny smiled back at her and set up his camera and started snapping shots of Nicole's face. God, that girl was tough! She had not complained of any pain. However, Danny knew too well what it was like to not want to show any kind of weakness to the people around you. She had to hurt; there was no two ways about it. Although she had proved that she was more than able to take care of herself, he felt overwhelmed by a need to protect her. He chased these thoughts from his mind and focused his camera on Nicole's mouth. "You can actually see very clearly the bruises left by each of his fingers around your mouth," he commented.

"Yeah, he was a mean, strong son of a bitch, and thanks to him, my eye has now turned a very fashionable shade of purple," Nicole added.

Before he could keep himself in check, Danny lightly brushed a strand of Nicole's hair away from her face. Her eyes grew wide in surprise at this unexpected movement. As soon as he realised what he'd done, Danny lowered his hand quickly and Nicole could have sworn she'd seen him blush. This little exchange hadn't escaped Don's attention. Although he made no comment, an amused smile hovered on his lips. Danny cleared his throat in order to regain his composure. He finished photographing Nicole's bruises quickly. "I have to process your flat now. Flack should take you to the hospital," he said. He daren't look at her in the eyes.

"You not going to give me any trouble about that, are you?" Don asked, looking at Nicole.

"Not one bit," the young woman replied wearily. "My head hurts a lot now. I'll have to call Molly's childminder to tell her what happened and to ask her to look after her a bit longer."

"No problem," Don assured her. "You can call from the car." The dark haired detective wrapped his arm protectively around the young woman's shoulders and guided her out of the flat.

"Nicole?" Danny called out. She turned around to look at Danny. He felt his stomach twist in a painful knot at the sight of her bruised face and the obvious pain she was now in but had been trying to hide from her colleagues. "Do you have anywhere to stay tonight?" he asked.

Nicole raised her eyes to the ceiling as if considering her answer. "Nope," she sighed deeply. "I have no family in New York." She bit her bottom lip. Out of the blue, she thought that no matter how badly Nathan had betrayed her and hurt her, right now, she could have done with him here making decisions for her and taking responsibilities out of her hands. She closed her eyes and sighed again.

"You OK?" Don asked, alerted by Nicole's sudden slump in energy. Nicole simply shook her head, her eyes still closed.

Danny had also noticed Nicole's reaction. "Take her to the hospital, Flack," he said to his colleague. Don led the young woman out of the door as Danny just stood still, staring after them.

Danny had been back at the lab for a few hours processing the evidence he had collected at Nicole's flat and he could feel his frustration building up rapidly as he was coming up empty. The evidence was inconclusive and he knew that all his hopes were resting on the nail scrapings. The NYPD was a close knit force and, if one of them was hurt, all felt it and would stop at nothing to see that justice was done. Danny was making a conscious effort to keep his anger under wrap. This case was personal but he knew he would not be of any help to Nicole if he let his emotions take over his reason. He was still pondering this thought when Don Flack walked in.

"How is she?" Danny enquired immediately.

"They are keeping her in tonight for observation. She's concussed. Better be safe than sorry," Don replied.

Danny nodded. "What about her little girl?" he then asked.

"I've contacted the childminder and explained the situation. She's gonna keep Molly until Nicole's out of hospital."

"That's nice of her," Danny noted.

"She's a retired cop's wife," Don said. "She know how unpredictable our job can be. What you doin' now?"

"Nothing…" Danny replied absent-mindedly. "Is she alone?" he asked suddenly.

"What?" Don asked, confused and trying to follow his friend's train of thoughts.

"Nicole," Danny said. "Is she alone at the hospital?"

"Mac had just arrived when I left," Don replied. "Danny, she's OK. She's shaken and beat but she's OK, alright?"

"Yeah," Danny sighed. "I got Dr. Giles working on the nail scrapings. Luckily, we'll get DNA and a hit on CODIS because I am not going anywhere with the evidence from the flat." As he spoke those words, his pager started beeping. "Talk of the devil…" Danny said to Don. "It's Dr. Giles."

The two men left the lab in a synchronised movement and hurried towards the DNA lab. The wheelchair bound scientist was waiting for them, folder in hand. "I thought you would want me to give that one priority," he said as Danny and Don charged in his office.

"Any luck?" Danny enquired, taking the folder from Dr. Giles' hand and opening it so both he and Don could have a look at it.

"Oh yes," Dr Giles replied. "Lots of DNA in those scrapings and an almost instant hit on CODIS."

"Fryer, George," Don read aloud. "Out on parole for breaking and entering and robbery. Well, I don't think the parole board is going to like this. Let's go get ourselves a warrant and pick that guy up."

Danny nodded emphatically and followed Don. "Thanks Doc!" he called out before leaving the DNA lab.

Danny and Don as well as three other uniformed officers made their way to George Fryer's apartment. They backed against the wall, guns at the ready and Don knocked sharply on the door.

"George Fryer! Open the door, NYPD!" he shouted. They all waited for any kind of noise coming from the inside but were just met with silence. "OK, we going in," Don said. And with these words, he placed himself in front of the door and gave it a few well-placed kicks at the point where the lock was mounted. After the third kick, the latch broke and the door opened with a resounding crack. Don charged in the apartment first, followed by the officers and Danny, closing their procession. They cleared the rooms one after the other, but unfortunately could not find any trace of the occupant.

"It's all yours, Danny," Don said, turning to his friend. Danny gloved up and retrieved his torch light from his kit. He started going over the flat to find any indication as to where the perpetrator could be. Don instructed one of his officers to put an APB on George Fryer.

"We'll get that son of a bitch," he muttered under his breath.

Danny was still going through the apartment with a fine-tooth comb. Don observed him for a while. The young man's gaze was steely and his concentration dug a deep wrinkle between his eyebrows. Don happened to think that he wouldn't want to be Fryer when Danny got his hands on him. He was going to rip him apart for what he had done to Nicole. Don's thoughts were interrupted by his officer whispering something in his ear. Don nodded and called out to Danny.

"Hey Messer! Do you remember the navy-blue wreck on four wheels parked up front?" he asked. "It's Fryer's car. Wanna take a look?"

Danny followed his friend and the officer down several flights of stairs until they reached the front of the building. George Fryer's car was indeed a wreck and suffered from the worse case of rust ever seen.

"Wow!" Don commented. "If you were to sneeze in that thing, it'd crumble around you for sure!"

"Warrant covers the car?" Danny enquired. Don simply nodded. "Open it up please," Danny said to the officer. Once this was done, the officer stepped back to let the two detectives have a look. Danny took the front and Don opened the back door and started checking the floor of the car for any clue.

"Hey Flack," Danny said. "Do you know when people put everything but gloves in their glove box?" Don looked at his friend quizzically. "Well, our George here is a traditionalist," Danny continued. "Look what I found."

And Danny raised a pair of black leather gloves in front of Don's eyes. The dark haired detective's face broke into a wide smile.

"Hey, gloves! Nicole did say her attacker wore gloves, didn't she?" he asked.

"Yep," Danny said, looking more closely at the gloves. A viscous, shimmery residue on one of the gloves had attracted his attention. He removed a cotton swab from his kit and carefully collected the substance. He showed it to Don.

"Whadda ya think this is?" he asked with a sly grin. Don frowned at the coral pink substance and shook his head slowly. "Nicole's lipstick," Danny told him victoriously.

"Been staring at her lips much, Messer?" Don asked sarcastically. Danny chose to ignore his friend's clever remark, not wanting him to know just how spot on he was.

"I don't think we are going to get much more here. I'll go back to the lab with this," Danny said. "And you," he continued, looking at Don squarely in the eyes. "You find me that bastard."

Don nodded and Danny knew he needn't worry: Don would move heaven and earth if need be but he would find George Fryer.

That same evening, Nicole was pleading with the doctor at the hospital.

"I'm fine, I swear," she exclaimed. "You must let me go, I have to go back to my little girl, please Doctor!"

Mac, his arms folded across his chest, looked at his CSI and then gave an amused look to the doctor. "I take it she is feeling a lot better," he said to the doctor.

"I have to let her go home," said the tall doctor shaking his head, exasperated. "If I don't, she'll be crawling up the walls shortly. However, young lady, you have to rest. No work for a week."

Before Nicole had time to protest, Mac said: "Don't worry Doctor. I'll see to it."

"Good," the doctor replied satisfied. "I am not happy about letting you go home. You know that, don't you?" he asked Nicole.

"I could always discharge myself against medical advice," the young woman replied defiantly.

The doctor shook his head again and looked at Mac. "Strong skull, tough head," he commented. "Should you feel any worse, any dizziness, nausea, or experience blurred vision, I want you to come straight back here," the doctor said, turning to Nicole once again.

"I promise, Doctor," Nicole said, in her best obedient daughter voice, in the hope that the doctor would let her go already.

"Fine," the doctor sighed, considering himself defeated. "I'll go sign your discharge papers."

He left the room and Nicole finished getting ready under Mac's careful gaze.

"I'm OK, Mac," Nicole said, without even looking at him. She could feel his eyes on her, looking at her every movement, making sure she was up to leaving the hospital. "I'm not going to collapse or anything," she added turning to face him. "I just want to go get Molly and go home."

"Do you think it's a good idea to go back to your flat?" Mac enquired.

"And where else am I supposed to go?" Nicole asked, getting annoyed.

"Don't get so prickly, Nicole," Mac said to appease her. "I just wanted to make sure you were OK with it. Danny released your flat after collecting the evidence and he asked your super to fix the bay window. Don's also posted a couple of uniforms to keep an eye on you until we catch that creep."

"You got someone?" Nicole asked, her eyes widening with curiosity.

"Yes. There was lots of skin under your nails, lots of DNA. This guy must have trenches dug on his arm," Mac replied, with a smile.

"Well, that's an old tried and tested girl's recipe," Nicole said, returning his smile. "Biting, kicking, scratching and pulling hair. Foolproof!"

Mac chuckled. "Anyway," he continued. "Danny told me they had a hit on CODIS, but they are still looking for him."

"Now that's reassuring," Nicole said sarcastically.

"Nicole," Mac said. The seriousness of his voice put Nicole on edge. She knew that what he was about to say was not to be ignored. "You and Molly do not have to go back to the flat. We can arrange some other accommodation for you both. There is no shame in admitting that you're scared, Nicole."

"I know that," she replied. She bit her bottom lip for a few seconds before continuing. "I can't let anybody get the better of me, Mac. I have a child to take care of, and I cannot afford to be weak…"

"It isn't about being weak, Nicole," Mac interrupted. "It's about being safe."

"We'll have two officers looking over us, Mac," Nicole continued, ignoring his comment. "And I have total confidence in Don and Danny. They'll get that guy for me. I don't doubt it for a single second."

"There's nothing I can say to change your mind, is there?" Mac said. It was more a statement than a question.

"Nope," said the young woman, shaking her head. "We'll be fine."

Mac drove Nicole to Mrs Hernandez, Molly's childminder. Nicole knocked at the door and a portly woman opened. She took one look at Nicole's face and exclaimed in Spanish:

"Oy querida! Como te sientes?"

"I've been better," Nicole replied, coming in followed by Mac. "Mrs Hernandez, this is Mac Taylor from the Forensics Department, my boss."

"Well, I hope you are going to catch whoever did this to Nicole," Mrs Hernandez said emphatically to Mac.

"We won't stop until we do, Ma'am," Mac said.

"Bueno," the woman said satisfied.

At that moment, a little girl came running from the back room. "Mummy!" she shouted, throwing herself in Nicole's arms.

"Hey baby," Nicole said with a smile. "Have you been a good girl for Mrs Hernandez?" Molly didn't answer the question. She was looking intensely at her mother's face.

"What's that, Mummy?" she asked, running her fingers lightly on Nicole's bruises.

"Mummy fell and hurt herself," Nicole replied, only half lying. "Mac here had to take me to the doctor's but now I'm OK."

Molly's inquisitive eyes settled on Mac and she studied him for a moment. Then, as if satisfied with what she had seen, she turned her attention back to her mother. "I'll give you a kiss better, Mummy," the little girl said, planting a kiss on her mother's bruised cheek. Nicole winced but composed herself before Molly could catch her reaction. This, however, had not escaped Mac's attention.

"Thank you, sweetie," Nicole said to the little girl. "I'm feeling much better now." She then turned to Mrs Hernandez. "I'll be off work for a week. Doctor's and boss' orders. So I'll keep Molly with me."

"Sure querida," Mrs Hernandez said, gathering both Nicole and Molly in her arms for a motherly hug. "If you need anything, like help with shopping or cooking, you know I'm only one phone call away."

Nicole nodded. "Thank you so much," she said and with Molly in her arms, she left, still followed by Mac. Molly waved at her childminder until Mac's car left the Hernandez' residence.

As soon as she stepped in her apartment, Nicole felt a chill run down her spine. But she wasn't about to show Mac that he was right and that she was scared out of her wits. She thought about the two policemen protecting the front and rear of her apartment, and this thought appeased her. Molly had fallen asleep in the car and Mac was now carrying her. Nicole took her daughter from Mac's arms and started walking towards the little girl's bedroom.

"Be five minutes," she whispered to Mac. After putting Molly to bed, she went back into the lounge to find Mac talking to the officer guarding her front door. He was giving him instructions on what to do if anything happened.

"Mac, he knows his job," Nicole said to him.

The officer laughed. "She is in good hands," he told Mac.

"New York's finest, Mac," Nicole said softly to her boss. "We'll be fine. I have your mobile number if we need you."

"Be sure to use it, even if it seems trivial, OK?" Mac reminded her.

Nicole nodded and gave Mac a small smile. "We'll be fine," she said again.

Mac glanced once again at his CSI and left reluctantly. After Mac's departure, Nicole made herself a cup of camomile tea, sat comfortably on the sofa and called her parents to inform them of what had happened. After reassuring her father and saying that no, her mother did not need to jump in the first available flight to come to New York, she gave them her love and hung up. She then spotted the newspaper she had bought the day before laying on her coffee table. She opened it to the real estate pages and started to read some of the ads. Mac was one hundred percent right, she did not feel safe in her apartment anymore. Molly was her priority and her security was paramount. Nicole had circled two ads that sounded promising when someone knocked at her door. She jumped out of her skin and cursed her heart, which had started beating at an uncontrollable pace. Her nerves were more frayed than she thought. She inhaled and exhaled deeply, chastising herself silently. "For Goodness' sake," she thought. "You have two cops guarding your flat. Get a grip, woman." Her reaction only served to confirm her earlier thought: she wouldn't be able to stay in her flat, at least not if she wanted to sleep peacefully ever again and not jump at the slightest noise. Once she felt calm enough, she walked to the door, took a look through the peephole and, to her surprise, she saw Danny waiting patiently.

She opened the door and invited him in. "Come in, Danny," she said. "I'm surprised to see you."

The young CSI shook his head, exasperated at himself. "I am so sorry," he said. "I should have called you first rather than turning up like that so late. I didn't think. I'm sorry."

Nicole smiled. "It's OK Danny," she said reassuringly. "Please sit down. Do you want anything to drink?"

Danny sat down on the sofa and shook his head. "No thanks," he said. "I have a question to ask you."

The young woman sat next to her colleague and nodded. "Go ahead," she said.

"Did you wear lipstick today when you were attacked?" Danny asked her.

"Lip gloss," Nicole corrected him. "Yeah, course. I always wear it."

"I don't suppose I could borrow it," Danny asked tentatively.

Nicole frowned but agreed nonetheless. "Sure, let me just get it for you," she said standing up and walking to her bedroom.

While she was getting her lip-gloss from her bedroom, Danny noticed the ads Nicole had circled in the paper. "Looking for another place to live?" he asked her as she came back.

Nicole sat down and looked at Danny for a moment before answering. "Mac said it was OK for Molly and me to go and stay somewhere else if we didn't feel safe here. I told him we'd be fine but he was right. I am so on edge, my heart almost broke free of my ribcage when you knocked at the door."

"I am so sorry. I didn't mean to frighten you," he said, with an overwhelming feeling of guilt.

She put her hand on his forearm in a reassuring movement. "Oh no," she said. "Don't worry about that. I couldn't be safer with those two officers here." She removed her hand from his arm, shrugged and bit her bottom lip. "I don't know. My personal space has been invaded. It just doesn't feel right anymore. Mac was so right, but I would rather swallow broken glass than admit it to him."

Danny chuckled. He had been slightly distracted by her hand resting on his arm. The movement had been brief, but had felt so natural and so right. "Yeah, he can be annoying like that," he said.

Nicole laughed and handed him the tube of lip-gloss. "There you go," she said. "What do you need it for?"

Danny gave her a sly smile. "That," he said holding the tube of lip gloss up, "is the last nail in your attacker's coffin."

Nicole pressed her hands together in a self-comforting movement and looked toward her feet. "Once Don finds him," she said softly.

Danny looked at her intensely. The urge to protect her he had felt earlier on resurfaced. "He will find him," he said to the young woman. "Don's like a bloodhound. Once he gets a scent, he don't give up."

Nicole looked at Danny and her eyes locked with his. She looked past the lenses of his glasses, and deep into his blue eyes and Danny felt as if she could read his innermost thoughts.

Nicole blinked rapidly and bit her bottom lip. "And you'll be there to nail that guy's coffin", she said with a small smile.

Danny's gaze had not left her face. "I promise you I will," he said gravely. He felt his breathing quicken and stood up suddenly to put a stop to the feelings she was stirring in him. She followed his cue and stood as well.

Danny made for the door and put his hand on the handle. But before he opened the door, he turned towards Nicole and fished a card from the inside pocket of his jacket and handed it out to her. "That's my mobile number, Nicole. If you need me at anytime, for anything," he said.

Nicole felt a sharp, squeezing pain in her chest as a wave of panic hit her. All of a sudden, she didn't want Danny to go. But she quickly regained her composure. After all, she thought, she was no damsel in distress. She took the card from Danny's hand. "Thanks Danny," she said, almost inaudibly. As much as she wanted him to stay, she also wanted him to leave quickly before she lost all control over herself and collapsed in a teary heap at his feet.

Danny opened the door and stepped outside. "Take care," he told Nicole before leaving.

The young woman nodded and closed the door. She rested her back against the door and slid slowly to the floor, forcing herself to breathe deeply in order to keep calm. If she broke down now, she wasn't sure she would ever be able to get back up again. She had to think of Molly. She had to stay strong for Molly. After several minutes, she finally stood up and went to her bedroom to go to bed. That night, she did not sleep a wink.

Danny returned to the lab and quickly set to work on his evidence. He needed to bury himself into what he was doing in order not to think about the exchange he had had with Nicole. The emotions he had felt towards her had been extremely strong and vivid. And he was sure he had noted the same kind of reaction coming from her. He shook his head in exasperation, hoping to clear it of all thoughts and picked up the evidence bag containing George Fryer's gloves.

Danny had no idea how long he had been working or even what time it was when Don Flack came charging into the lab.

He slammed his hands on the table in front of him, leaned forward and looked at Danny, triumph written all over his face. "We got him," he said. He then settled back, waiting for his friend's reaction.

"Fryer?" Danny asked. Don nodded with a smug smile on his face. Danny returned his smile. "Let him marinate a little," said the young CSI. "I am waiting on a few results and then, we'll go get him."

Don chuckled excitedly. _That_ was the part of the job he loved the best.

Danny and Don were sat on one side of the table in the interrogation room. George Fryer and his lawyer sat opposite them.

Danny unfolded a warrant in front of the two men and carefully ironed out the creases in the paper with his hands. "This is a warrant that gives me authorisation to ask you to roll your sleeves up and also remove your shoes and your socks." He sat back on his chair, enjoying the full effect that his words had on George Fryer. Beads of sweat were starting to show on the man's forehead.

Don also noticed this. "What's the matter, Fryer?" he asked. "Feeling hot and bothered? Sleeves up and shoes off. Now."

George Fryer squirmed uncomfortably in his chair. "This is harassment," he said unconvincingly.

Danny leaned forward on the table and looked at the lawyer. "Do me a favour," he said. "Ask your client to keep his mouth shut please. I don't need him to tell me anything. Cos the evidence is doing a lotta talking."

The lawyer nodded and Fryer reluctantly rolled the sleeves of his shirt up and took his shoes and socks off. Danny and Don noticed the red scratch marks on Fryer's arm at the same time and both their smiles mirrored each other.

Danny set a white sheet of paper in front of Fryer. "Put your hand flat on this and spread your fingers apart," he told the man.

Fryer threw a quick glance at his lawyer then did as he was told. Danny traced carefully the outline of Fryer's hand on the paper. He then took a ruler and measured the distance between the tip of the thumb to the tip of the little finger on the drawing. Finally, with a satisfied smile, he recorded the number on the notebook next to him. Don caught a glimpse of what Danny had just written down and his smile grew even broader. Boy, he was going to enjoy this.

Danny settled back in his chair. "First thing first," he told George Fryer. "One of our detectives was attacked in her flat earlier on today. She put up a hell of a fight and scratched her attacker. You, George, have some really nice scratch marks on your wrist. Your DNA was found under your victim's nails. And that in itself is enough to lock you up and throw away the key but I'm a thorough guy."

Danny opened a folder and retrieved a photo of the bruises around Nicole's mouth. "The hand span of the person who left those bruises on the victim's face is 242 millimetres and your hand span, George, is exactly 242 millimetres," he said showing the outline of Fryer's hand he had just drawn.

The lawyer opened his mouth but before he had time to say anything, Danny lifted his hand to prevent him from speaking. "I'm not done yet, it gets better," the young man said sarcastically. He grabbed a brown evidence bag from the floor and took one of Nicole's shoes out. "Show me your feet now," he ordered Fryer.

The man spun on his chair to reveal his feet. Sure enough, one of his feet sported a deep purple bruise. Danny smirked. "See that bruise here," he told the men, "it's consistent with the shape of the victim's heel."

Danny laid another, smaller evidence bag on the table and took out one of the gloves he had found in George Fryer's car. "And now, for the coup de grace," he said theatrically. He heard Don chuckle next to him. "This is one of two gloves we found in your car, George," Danny said. "And this one is a hell of a triple whammy. First, I found epithelial inside the glove. Yours. Perfect match to your DNA. Then, I also found two substances on the outside of the glove. One was lip-gloss consistent with the one the victim was wearing that day. I matched it, again perfectly, down to the cherry flavour. The other was saliva. Another perfect DNA match, to your victim this time."

Danny sat back and looked at George Fryer with disdain. "You are such an idiot," he told him. "If all criminals were as inept as you are, I'd have the easiest job in the world."

Don stood up, walked around the table and grabbed Fryer's arm to force him up. He then twisted the man's arm behind his back and proceeded to handcuff him. "George Fryer, you are under arrest," he said as he led the man out of the room, followed by the lawyer.

Danny ran his hand on his forehead and in his short, light brown hair. He was exhausted. He looked at his watch and was surprised to find out it was almost seven o'clock in the morning. It had been a long day. He went back to his desk and spent a few hours finishing the paperwork on the case. Before he left, he knocked on Mac's office door. Mac signalled him through the glass panel to come in. "Heard you got the guy who attacked Nicole," he told his CSI.

Danny nodded. "Yep," he said. "That was pretty satisfying."

Mac looked at Danny. "You looked shattered," he noted. "Go home and rest. You did good today."

Danny smiled at his boss. "Thanks Mac," he replied. "I might just do that, but there is someone I need to go and see before I can go home."

Mac consulted his watch. "Nicole and Molly are early risers," he said looking out for Danny's reaction. "They'll be up by now."

Danny looked at Mac with a shocked expression but there was nothing he could deny. Yep, Mac could be annoying like that sometimes. He smiled, embarrassed. "See ya later Mac," he said leaving.

Mac did not reply but he did settle back comfortably in his chair with a smug grin on his face.

Danny parked in front of Nicole's building and got out of his car. He could not believe that he actually felt butterflies in his stomach at the idea of talking to Nicole. As he reached her door, he noticed that the uniformed officer was not here. He knocked and heard giggles coming from inside. The door flung opened and Danny felt his breath leave his body when he saw Nicole. She was dressed casually in faded boot-cut jeans and a blue T-shirt. He also noticed that she wasn't wearing any shoes.

Nicole's smile widened as she saw Danny. "Hey Danny, come on in," she told the young man. "Can I get you anything to drink?"

Danny gathered his thoughts. "Err, coffee would be nice," he finally managed to say.

Nicole showed him a high stool next to the breakfast bar where Molly was already sat, having her breakfast. "Please sit down," she said. She then stood next to her daughter. "Danny, this is my daughter, Molly. Molly, this is Detective Danny Messer. We work together."

The little girl looked at Danny carefully, sizing him up. "Very nice to meet you," she said after observing him for a few seconds.

"Nice to meet you too Molly," Danny told the little girl with a smile. He then turned to Nicole who had started preparing his coffee. "I have some news," he said.

Nicole turned around. "You got the guy," she said and then smiled sheepishly.

Danny scoffed. "Let me guess. Blabbermouth Flack's been round?" he asked Nicole.

"Yeah, you missed him by about ten minutes," she replied laughing. "He told me when he came to remove his officers."

Danny nodded. "Well, I am deeply annoyed now," he said, pretending to be offended. "He ruined the effect of my big announcement!"

Nicole smiled widely and set a cup of steaming coffee in front of Danny. "I cannot thank you enough, Danny," she said. "Don said you did an outstanding job."

Danny smiled. "Actually, I should be the one thanking you," he said, noticing the frown appearing on the young woman's face. "Yeah," he continued. "The scratch marks, the bruise on his foot, your lip-gloss on his glove… I had so much evidence, I didn't know what to do with it. Thanks to you, I think this was the most open and shut case of my career."

Still smiling, Nicole bit her bottom lip. Danny felt his heart skip a beat as he noticed this now familiar habit of hers. "Well," she said with a chuckle. "I aim to please."

Danny started sipping his coffee. "Yeah, you can put all this behind you now," he said.

Nicole nodded in agreement. "I have made a few phone calls this morning and Molly and I are going to go and visit a few flats and houses today," she said.

"Aren't you supposed to rest and recover during your time off work?" Danny asked, his blue eyes sparkling with mischief.

Nicole gave him a knowing look. "Well, officially yes," she told him with sly smile. "Not a word of this to Mac please."

"My lips are sealed," he nodded. "So you still moving then?"

Nicole tilted her face towards her shoulder and considered her answer. "Yes," she said finally. "Fresh start in a new place, with no creepy, scary memories."

Danny finished his coffee and stood up. "Thanks for this," he said. "I'd better go and let you two ladies get on with it"

Nicole accompanied him to the door. As he reached for the handle, Nicole stopped his movement by putting her hand on his forearm. She was so close to him that his sensory system went into overload and he experienced every sensation with an almost painful intensity, down to the warmth of her hand on his arm that he could feel through his clothes.

Nicole wasn't smiling anymore and she looked at Danny intensely without removing her hand from where it was. "Danny," she said with a quivering sigh. "Thank you again, I cannot tell you how grateful I am. I knew you'd get that guy for me. I told Mac I didn't doubt it for a second and you didn't let me down. Thank you."

Danny's words got strangled into his throat. "You're welcome," he said, surprised that he was able to string two coherent words together.

To Danny's disappointment, she released his arm to allow him to open the door. He did so reluctantly. "I'll see you in a week then," he said turning to her.

Nicole nodded. "Yeah," she said and then bit her bottom lip.

Danny felt his heart skip yet another beat. He stepped out of the flat as his whole body was screaming to stay in Nicole's presence. She smiled and waved at him as he started to walk away. He heard Nicole close the door of her flat.

When he finally found himself outside standing next to his car, he inhaled deeply. Something Nicole had said the previous night when he had visited her to collect her lip-gloss popped into his mind. He smiled. Now it was his own heart that was threatening to break free from his ribcage.

The end.


End file.
